Blue Skies Over Wildflower Lock (The Wildflower Lock)

Chapter 22

Daisy May was not a lawbreaker. Not ordinarily, but this didn’t really feel like breaking the law, and it was an exceptional circumstance. It was a marsh orchid, and while she might see one again on her journey, it was likely to be in the same situation – on private land, just out of reach.

With her pulse hitching up a notch, Daisy looked around her. A little way in the distance, there was a jogger. She admired their commitment, being out at such a time of day, but at that moment, what concerned her most was their speed. They seemed to be going relatively fast. But it wasn’t like she needed long. Just enough time to race down the slope onto the field below and get a decent photo of the flower. A couple of minutes at most. She could do that, couldn’t she?

Daisy took one last glance at the flowers. It was a fairly steep slope going down to them, but not steep enough that she wouldn’t be able to climb back out. With one last look towards the runner, she slipped her phone back into her pocket and took her first step down towards the field.

Considering how dry the grass was everywhere else, Daisy was surprised to find the slope slightly slippery, and her front foot slid forward a short way before she regained her balance. Perhaps it would take slightly longer to get the shot than first anticipated, but did it really matter if the runner saw her? It wasn’t like she was doing something that terrible. She was only taking a photo.

Daisy took another step that was far more stable than her first, although her third step once again slid forward and it wasn’t so easy to regain her balance as before. She staggered forward. Then, rather than slipping again, her feet began to sink. It was almost instantaneous. They stopped moving forward and sank downwards instead. Unfortunately, her body didn’t do the same. Her arms and torso continued to carry the downward momentum from the hill, and her body was still moving forward. As she tumbled towards the grasses, she realised her grave error. It was a marsh orchid. As in, it grew in marshland. That was why the slope had been damper than the rest of the path. With one last attempt to save herself, Daisy tried yanking one foot upwards. While her shoe stayed put, her foot flew forward with unexpected speed and force. There was nothing she could do. As if in slow motion, Daisy saw the ground growing ever closer. Then, with a squelching thud, her hands disappeared into the mud.

‘Oh God,’ Daisy said, feeling her knees and hands start disappearing beneath the sodden ground too. It wasn’t normal mud. It was so thick and viscous, yet at the same time, it didn’t seem able to support her weight. It was like quicksand. Of all the ways her morning could have gone, this was worse than anything she could have imagined.

With one shoe missing, Daisy tried to crawl back up to the slope. Mud had drenched her coat and was seeping through her trousers, while midges were pestering her eyes. Without thinking, she used the back of her hand to swipe them away, only to smear dirt across her face.

‘For crying out loud! I just wanted a photo of a flower!’ Daisy screamed as she lifted her head and blinked away the mud so that she could see. ‘I just wanted a photo of one blooming flower.’

She wasn’t expecting her comment to be answered by anyone. After all, she hadn’t been shouting to some great deity. It was just frustration, that was all. Which was why her heart did a somersault when a masculine voice replied.

‘Looks like you’ve got yourself in a bit of a mess there.’